Coin bank



R. V. MORAN COIN BANK Dec. 7, 1948.

Filed March 12, 1948 Patented Dec. 7, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT iQFFIC CQIN BANK Ralph Victor Moran, Bradford,` Pa. |Applca.,tion March 1,2, 1943, Serial No. 4783985 1 Clailm.

This invention relates to coin banks.

One object of the invention is to provide an attractive and ornamental coin bank embodying, among other characteristics, a transparent re ceiver in which is confined an upright character-bearing member of a nature .denoting an in teresting, colorful, amusing, educational, ornaE mental or other pictoral representation designed to create zartistio and ornamental value and around which the coins pile up gradually in ythe receiver as they are deposited in the transparent receiver, and the accumulated coins being visible gives encouragement to the saver to save more.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin bank embodying a base and a. transparent receiver having Aa .coin slot for the passage of the coins and which is separable from the base and 'which encloses an attractive lcharacter-bearing member having a guard carried thereby and servf ing to underlie the coin-receving slot to prevent surreptitious or other removal of coins from the receiver by way .of the coinslot.

A further object .of the invention resides in the provision ofa coi-n bank of the nature stated embodying, among .other characteristics, a base upon which is Wedgingly mounted a character bearing member offset with relation tothe .center of the base vin combination With ;a Vglobular: shaped transparent .coin-receiving or collecting member having rigid but detachable connection with the base by means of screws engaging a thickened portion of the said memberlto prevent zaecidental breakage of the connection lbetween the baseand saidmember, the globular member having a coin-,receiving slot at its ,top substantially centrally thereof andlarranged out-ofverticalialignment with the character-bearing member so as to prevent sliding of coins on the char- -acter-bearing member out of the bank through the coin-receiving slot.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists vin the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter ,fullyvdescribed illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claim hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in theform, proportion and minor details of con.-

,struction, within the scope of the appended claim,

may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of the invention.

' .In the drawing:

Figure l is;a perspectiveview of the invention; o .Figura Zisa-vertical sectional 4view ofothe invention; i

.entation emploed; and thecolqring effect'm Figure 3 is a hori'zontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figura 2;

.Fgure fi is a Vertical sectional view; and Figura `5 is a sierwfflltsd perspectiv'fiw PI the Character-manna member" i Referring now more particularly to the accompanying `i.rav\.f.i.r.1s., the .re Chalra'if W indicates a Adisk-shaped o r otherbase oornposed of Wood or other suitable material aiidfif desi'rei having an upwardly beveled edge as 'shwn l'I'he base'is provided Ain its top'surface with va relatively narrow, o i'r'cular' groove lr|` within .the Deripherv thereof, rwiinglfi disk-Shared SUP- porting surface 12 arranged within the Ina'rgirral edge of the ;base and which is provided with 'a relatively short tapering slot |'3 etending entire'- ly through the base andtaperingv at its'ends'and offset with relation tol tliepenter of said `suppOl-"'ing SuI- '12.- U J v n o rnamental or decorative article .or Qcharacter-baring member is indicated at 'L4 and which is supported 'rigidly in 'upright' position `in the aforesaid slot IS Tof the supportin'gfls'urfaoe'12.

This character-bearing VIneniflie'r ll'may beof any suitable configuration anddes'igmthe same ,being .preferably cut out""f1`n c'lesignsV representatiyeiof the character of Vthe `pieltori'al representation Jto ;be carried .thereby. IIhe-front of the characterl,bearing member is hghlyand pleasingly colored befapplied to' the front thereof by a printed shje pf paper L4' elaboratelycoloredanddeoratively portraying :the article pr design of'repreentatioh designed ``by `the cut loutA 4 olralraozter;bezfii'ig mmbr o c o The charactr-bearingzmernber I `llispreerably composedof stiff paperboard lor `other' mpc-si'- tion material possessihg rigidity, and a s lower end it has a reducedstiff `,depen:dirgfoot rltab portion 15 provided With doWnwardly v-tapering the upper -fase ef the isrppgfting Surface ft tz andinaidsloti the marginal edge of an opening |9. This coin-z.`

face of the character-bearing member through the coin-receiving slot.

When the bank contains many coins and realiz- 'ing that attempts might be made to pile coins one upon another` upon the flat front face of the character-bearing member and the latter extending upwardly almost to the coin-receiving slot, I have provided a 'guard 23 which is composed of flexible or resilient material, such, for instance, as Cellophane, Celluloid, cardboard; or the like. This guard 23 is mounted upon the upper end of the character-bearing member and, as shown in this instance, it is secured between the plies of receiving member or casing l'i is provided with a coin-reoeiving slot 20 in the top thereof. The

rim or collar la forming the boundary of said-- opening is thickened with respect to the body of the member H for strengthening purposes and it is exteriorly ribbed or roughened, as at' 2|, asV

shown. v

The aforesaid circular groove l in the base IO is adapted to receive this thickened rim or collar of the opening 19 of the globular member I'l where the base and globular member are firmly secured together. The globular member is shown as composed of glass but I contemplate the use of other transparent or other material in substitution for the glass, depending upon conditions and circumstances. i

The transparent globular member i' is fastened in the circular groove Il of the base in any suitable manner. One method of efiecting this fastening connection resides in the employment of concealed screws 22 which operate through the bottom of the base Ill upwardly upon an incline through the outer side wall of the aforesaid circular groove Il and engage the outer ribbed or roughened exterior surface of the rim or collar IB of the opening |9 of the globular member l'l to hold the globular member from accidental separa- 'tion from the base and to prevent turning movement of the former when mounted on the' latter. 4The heads of these screws are completely counter- Asunk in the under surface of the base.

It is because of the screws 22 bearing on the rim |a of the opening is that the gmbular member at its opening is thickened for reinforcing 'purposes to prevent accidental breakage of the globular member under heavy or other pressure of the points of the screws on the globular member, especially when effecting the tightening con- |nection of the latter in the groove of the base. To empty the bank of coins, it is simply necessary to loosen the said screws 22 and lift the globular member off the base over the character-bearing vmember, as will be readily understood. A heavy coin, such as a twenty-five or half-dollar piece strikes with some force at the bottom of the transparent globular member and under certain forcev might tend to break the glass adjacent to the edge of the opening |9 and this is another reason for reinforcing the lower portion of the globular member.

VAs shown, the character-bearing member l'l being mounted in lthe slot |3 of the supporting surface l2 ofiset with relation to the center thereof and the coin-receiving slot 20 beingr arranged centrally of the globular member at the top thereof, it will be apparent that the character-bearing member is arranged out Vof Vertical alignment with the coin-receiving slot. This arrangement `is provided in an effort to overcome surreptitious 'or other removal of 'a coin' from the bank through said coin receiving slot 20 by manipulation of the bank for the sliding-of coins-on the' flat front the material of which the character-bearing member is shown as composed.

V The guard 23 being composed of transparent material similar in color to the color of the glass i' or other material of which the globular member interest watch the coins, pile' up' in thel. bank H may be composed, the guard is practically invisible'to the eye. nature, as intimated above,.and ext'ends in a bent or curved formation laterally from the upper por- -tion of the character-bearing member and at its free portion lies under the coin-receiving vslot in contact with the interior of the globular member at the top of the latter. The coin may be readily forced downwardly through the coin-receiving slot against the flexibility or resiliency of the guard 23 after which .the guard at its free portion Will sprin-g back into normal position under the coin-receiving slot and against the innersurface of the globular member.

It will thus vbe seen that the guard 23 effectively serves to prevent removal of coins from the bank through the coin-receiving slot. This guard 23 serves an additional function of' also serving to support the character-bearing member in rigid upright position inasmuch as the guard is connected to the character-bearing member and has forced contact with the inner surface of the globular memberl near the coinreceiving slot. While the guard is preferably of a color similar to the color of the transparent globular coin-receiving member, the guard'may be' of a different color, if desired. The guard may be eliminated under certain conditions or if desired. The character-bearing member being arranged in offset relation :to the coin-receiving slot of the bank ordinarily prevents removal of. coins from the bank throughthe coinreceiving slot.

If the globular. coin-receiving member I'I is composed of glass, and if a person inserted .a quarter in it, and shook the bank hard enough, the quarter might break the 'glass with the whip it would vreceive in its movement back and forth in the glass receiver. Thus, it will be seenlthat the character-bearing member acts as a ibuffer or baffle tending to prevent breakage incident to such manipulation of the bank. i L

In the use of the bank, coinsi. of various denominations may be deposited,-if desired, .or cer'- tain coins of certain denominationsi or 'values may be deposited. For instance, one person' may prefer to deposit pennies only, nickels only,'dimes only, for twenty-five Vcent coins only. This is a matter of choice but it is apparent that the bank is usable orserviceable for thev amusement. of children or grown-ups, and by virtue of .the ornamental characteristics of' the bank, and 'a' person seeing his or her savings Uswell before his or her eyes tends to give desire to persons tofsave :their coins of various ,denominations and with i great around the character-bearing member. Ii

This guard is of a springy.

What is claimed is:

A coin bank comprising a transparent casing open at the bottom and provided at the top with a coin slot, a base supporting the `casing and closing the open bottom thereof and having a recess offset from the coin slot and disposed in a Vertical plane in parallelism with that of said slot, a rigid Vertical member composed of a plurality of plies of material provided at the lower end with a foot portion fitted in the recess of the base and rigidly supported by the same in a Vertical position, and a guard of flexible sheet material having a lower attaching portion held between the plies of said member and an upper portion extending from said member and normally covering the coin slot and adapted to be fiexed by a coin inserted in said slot.

RALPH VICTOR MORAN. 

